


Chapter Fifty-Three: Opus Dei

by CavalierConvoy



Series: MTMTE Series One: Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun [54]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers Generation One, Transformers Generation Two
Genre: Confessions, Confrontations, Exile, Gen, Investigations, Other, Riots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 08:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavalierConvoy/pseuds/CavalierConvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The <i>Lost Light</i> A riot breaks out in the auditorium, splitting up the investigation team when Security is called in to break it up. With Drift in exile, the supposedly comatose Ultra Magnus <strike>stealing</strike> <i>requisitioning</i> a shuttle, and Trailcutter succumbing to hangover-fueled frustration because everyone is acting like idiots looking for a reason to get into an all-out brawl, morale could not get any lower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter Fifty-Three: Opus Dei

And we're all glad it's over  
We thought it would last  
Every minute of the future  
Is a memory of the past  
Coz' we gave all the power  
We gave all the best  
And everyone lost everything  
And perished with the rest.  
—["Opus Dei"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB9lObWclFQ) by Laibach, from _Opus Dei_ ; originally ["Life is Life"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq7c-KDJxHQ) by Opus (released as a single)

_Lost Light_

Engine Level

Now

"So it was Drift after all?" Trailcutter repeated.

"Never trust ex-'Cons," Hoist grumbled. "Always ulterior motives. Always."

"Careful there, Hoist, I'd hate to destroy the fragile ceasefire we've agreed on," Artemis countered as Brainstorm looked over her intact arm.

"On the contrary, I suspect it had everything to do with Drift trying to prove himself to the Autobot cause," the weapons inventor stated.

"He couldn't have done it on his own," Grapple shrugged.

"Magnus had already suspected Shock and Ore, actually, but he was still gathering evidence to support a case before his ... well, let's just say I may have inadvertently played a hand in this scheme. Me and my inventions, you know."

"Yes," Trailcutter sighed, "I know."

"It seemed innocent, honestly. A nonlethal security system to keep unauthorised personnel out of high-risk areas. Infrasonic disruptors, perception filters to deter wandering optics, as you've found. I figured they were for the generator room. We've seen the aftermath with ... er ... which one was too close to the generator when we lifted off? Shock?"

"Ore," Trailcutter corrected, bordering on a growl; he was running on simmering anger.

 _Bad blood between them?_ Artemis caught his gaze, held it, arched a ridge. He caught her meaning, nodded, which she returned. _Fill me in later. Message received._

"That's when I came up with the infrasonic concept, since everyone knew about the generator after the sparkeater incident, which meant perception filters were rendered ineffective. I have to say, I'm quite pleased of how well both your shiv and hammer performed, Artemis — "

"Stay on topic, Brainstorm," the former ethics committee member warned. Max gazed down at the normally feckless Autobot and smirked, brows raised in surprise.

"Oh, yes, apologies," the jet coughed. "I did not supervise the installation; I didn't feel the need. Why would I suspect something sinister at hand?"

"I take it you talked to Magnus about this," Max questioned.

Brainstorm nodded. "Soon after Artemis went on medical leave, in fact. On that note, Artemis, you have my deepest condolences regarding you friend. I understand you and Magnus were close." He placed a hand over his spark and made a slight bow. "Resuming our topic, it seems that I've been a person of interest for quite some time. Have I ever stressed how much I — "

"Yes, you have," Artemis and Trailcutter interrupted in tandem.

" — anyway, I understand why; higher scientific theory tends to fall upon the shoulders of myself and Perceptor. So. Once we had...control...of the situation following the battle, I spoke to Rodimus about Magnus's investigation, and informed him of the facts thus far. We didn't need another witch hunt after what happened to Cyclonus, after all. And that was when Drift came forward."

"Convenient that his two alibis are dead," Trailcutter continued.

"Likely he would have killed them if they hadn't already been killed," Grapple muttered. Trailcutter shook his head, a warning, that made Grapple take a step back. "Sorry, that was uncalled for," the yellow Autobot held up his hands in defeat.

"I'm not defending his actions," Artemis stressed, "but Drift's not the type to act on something this big on his own. He's skilled, yeah, but he's not a leader. No, he's collateral in this. There's a bigger sharkticon in the tank we need to worry about."

"Oh, I agree with all my spark," Brainstorm nodded enthusiastically. "Problem is, unlike Drift, whoever this particular person is, he is adept at covering his tracks. We can suspect all we want, but he's orchestrated this so well, that's all we can do. Even Magnus suspected his intention."

"Who?" Grapple demanded. Hoist groaned.

"Who else?" Artemis snarled. "Prowl. He plays the long game."

"But why?" Max demanded. "Look, this whole slag about Drift being an ex-'Con? This is me saying this: I saw him in action at Delphi, plague and all. That kid ran red that day, ran red when he fought Overlord. He didn't sneak that bastard on board without reason."

"What would motivate Drift to modify the ship?" Hoist questioned.

"I got this one," Trailcutter answered. "Someone — not saying who because we have no proof, Art — threatened Rodimus. Threatened him psychologically, that is; physical, Drift could handle." The anger in his optics broke, replaced with ... sadness? "I mean, what distance would you go to protect your best friend?"

Artemis was about to answer when three comms went off: hers, Trailcutter's, and Max's.

 _"Can I get you three up to the bridge?"_ Rodimus demanded, his voice betraying a tremble. _"We have a situation."_

"Just what we needed," Artemis grumbled. "Another situation."

"We'll be right up, Rodimus," Max answered the hail. To Brainstorm, Grapple, and Hoist, he questioned, "You nerds think you can handle things down here?"

"I am an artist!" Grapple protested, taking offence. "An architect! If you cannot see the elegance, the beauty, in my designs — "

"See what you started?" Hoist protested, clamping a hand over his friend's mouth.

*

The Bridge

Later

"What the _hell_ did we just watch?" Trailcutter questioned.

"That...wasn't natural," Artemis rubbed her optics, sinking into the seat next to Blaster.

"That's what you said about _Urotsukidoji,_ " Cavalier called out from her terminal across the room.

As Blaster replayed the footage of Magnus leaving the medibay, Max took the bait. "What's _Urotsukidoji_?"

"Nothing!" Trailcutter shouted, too forceful. "Primus, nothing, don't ever ask that again. In fact, never ask about anything that comes from Cavalier's vocal processor. Please, for the love of Primus, don't."

"What he said," Rodimus flipped his thumb in Trailcutter's general direction, optics still on the footage. "So, any thoughts?"

"Other than the obvious 'what the frag'?" Artemis countered.

"Is he...floating?" Trailcutter questioned.

"'Bout half-metre off the ground, my guess," Blaster shrugged. "Ratchet's perplexed — naw, I lied, he was more furious that a comatose patient just checked himself out without signing the proper paperwork — "

"How unlike Magnus," Max muttered.

"Long story short, he stole a shuttle and we're now in pursuit," Rodimus explained.

"Also not like him," Artemis added. "He would 'requisition'."

"You're taking this in stride," Trailcutter observed.

"Oh, trust me, I'm freaking the frag out right now," she admitted. "I just had practice maintaining a semblance of normality under crisis situations."

"So Magnus pulling a Five Nights at Freddy's is definitely up there on creep factor. And we're not talking my favourite Creep factor." Cavalier commentated. "Don't tell him I said that."

"And there's no way we can gag her?" Max questioned.

"Been asking myself that for the past thirteen stels," Artemis responded, tone dry.

"I've been asking myself that since the Clampdown." Rodimus had attempted humour, but fell flat, so that the delivery was closer to sarcasm. "Art, you're temporarily reinstated, but don't tell Ratchet I did that," he ordered. "I need as much of whatever resembles law and order as we can muster on board. Until we get things straightened out, Max will act as second, with Hound as third. Art, 'Cutter, get the others on security detail and give them the rundown of what's going on, then hit crowd control." Rodimus pushed away from the console.

Max and Hound? "Rod," Artemis beckoned. "What happened to Drift?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he growled as he left the bridge.

"They exiled him," Cavalier answered, only after the door shut behind the captain. "It...it got bad. I think he got hurt."

"Swear to Primus I'm gonna tear off that smug bastard's chevrons the next time I see him," Artemis snarled.

"No proof," Trailcutter reminded.

"I'll find proof," she growled. "C'mon, let's gather the boys; we got a job to do." Without waiting, she marched, her hand a loose grip on the butt of the hammer, and left the bridge. Sensing the carnage that could potentially follow, Trailcutter jogged after her.

Cavalier made a tsk sound from behind her faceplate. "Yep, there goes a pissed off Prime."

Max regarded the Minibot with an upraised brow.

"What?" she demanded. "Never heard of the Wrecker Prime? The Hijacker of Warworlds? Conkiller — no, wait, that was 'Cutter."

"It seems I owe her a couple of litres," Max muttered, taking the first officer's chair and studying the screen.

"Don't threaten Art with a good time," Blaster chortled, but the mirth was short-lived as he continued to study the footage.

"Remote control?" Cavalier suggested. "Possession? I've seen possession. Ain't pretty. Last time I saw it involved Art getting pitched off the comm tower — "

"I remember that," Blaster grumbled.

" — and that was before I even really knew her, and even then I knew it was cold. I also thought she was faking, but I was stupid back then and I did some really stupid things back in Autobot City. Like _Jackass_ worthy. _Jackass_ involving Dinobots and NASCAR. Yep, those were the days."

"No, you don't want to know," Blaster warned to both Max and Mainframe, who had remained silent throughout the exchange.

*

"Dammit, Art, slow down!"

"We have a crew bordering riot-mode right now, and we gotta reign them in," she snapped, not breaking pace. "Time to Wrecker up."

"I don't 'Wrecker up' good," he reminded. "Hell, even the thought of Wreckers in general terrifies me to no end."

"You're bigger than most everyone; just cross your arms and glare."

"But most already know I don't cross my arms and glare good. Has to do with my lack of confrontational skills."

"Most know that you harbour an burning passion for justice."

"That and a scary ex-Wrecker for an _amica endura_." He held up his hands defensively. "Their words, not mine."

"I seriously doubt they used _amica endura_ to describe us. Anyway, use what you have, love, I won't complain."

"You know I don't roll that way, Art."

She spun on her heel, facing him. After a five click silence and a shared gaze, she grinned, warm, without her usual sarcasm behind the expression. "You are too beautiful for words. But we'll discuss this after we get things settled, all right?" Without waiting for an answer, she about-faced, leading the way. Activating her comm, she hailed, "Landmine, Waverider, Slapdash, Hydrobots, Aquafend: get your afts in front of the security office; we've got crowd control to deal with." Clicking off her comm, she added, "You'd think Aquafend would be a Hydrobot. I mean, Aquabat, Aquastar...all aquatic alt modes...."

"You think of the weirdest slag when under stress."

"The way I roll, love." She frowned, her hand returning to the butt of her hammer. "Keeps me focused."

Landmine and Waverider had arrived to the rendezvous point by the time Artemis and Trailcutter reached their destination. "So what's the plan?" Landmine questioned.

"Crowd control," Artemis replied, glancing down the opposite corridor. "Where's the others?"

"Slapdash was detained in the auditorium," Landmine replied, his optics not on her face but rather the hole in her shoulder. "They're screaming for blood, Art."

"They can scream all they want," she groused. "When they do more than scream, that's when we cuff the ringleaders and drag their afts down to the brig. Where's the Hydrobots?"

"With or without Aquafend?" Waverider demanded.

"Hopefully with; strength in numbers and all," Trailcutter interjected.

"Far I know," Landmine answered, "keeping the rabble in the shuttle bay from rioting."

Artemis bit her tongue. The more she dwelt on it, the more she wanted to hold Prowl's head into a vat of sulfuric acid. Instead, "We'll split up. Landmine, with us in the auditorium; Waverider, assist the Hydrobots and Aquafend." Keeping her gaze on Waverider, she continued. "Once your situation is under control, bring Aquafend to double back with us." Back to the group, she ordered, "Keep comms open; Max will be monitoring. If things get rowdy, we're authorised to administer non-lethal force. Break up the assembly, drag them to the brig if you must; we'll process them in the morning. You have your assignments; go!"

"You watch your back, Art," Waverider suggested, departing down the hall to the auditorium.

The innuendo was unmistakable. "Artemis to Cyclonus," she hailed as she, Trailcutter, and Landmine headed towards the auditorium deck. "May want to hang back from the crowds for a bit; we've got a riot in progress and they're looking for any of us with 'Con ties, perceived or otherwise, to take out their frustrations."

 _"I am fully capable of handling a rabble,"_ Cyclonus replied.

"Still, I'd rather you handle it without anyone being sent to medibay," she signed off.

"Maybe you should have me do the talking? You're better at the arms-crossed and look-tough thing than I am," Trailcutter suggested, then winced. Landmine snorted.

"Look tough, that much I can do," she smirked.

"How the hell do you get passed up for promotion?" Landmine demanded.

"Easy: wanton disregard for personal safety and authority, tendencies towards police brutality when confronting a hostile situation, flirting with my commanding officer, fraternising with my coworker, blatantly bootlegging — frag, ran out of fingers again."

"She doesn't want to get promoted," Trailcutter translated.

"Been there, done that, hated every minute of it. Rather do my job and get it over with." She smirked, a cold, empty gesture. "The job keeps my mind occupied." The smirk faded. "'Cutter, hate to put the spotlight on you, but who else are friends with Red and/or Prowl on board?"

He did not answer straight away. "You're worried."

She harrumphed. "Damn straight I'm worried. Not just for those of us with 'Con pasts; late-in-the-game 'Bots could be caught in the crossfire if things go hot. Red's friends are gonna want justice; Prowl's are gonna get scarce, especially if they're in on the plan."

"Wait, Prowl?" Landmine demanded.

"Running theory," Artemis stated.

"More like a hypothesis," Trailcutter corrected. "You think it'll get that serious?"

"I've seen red-on-red before; it's not pretty. And it was for a stupid reason, worse than this. Long story, I'll tell you over drinks. Names."

"Well, of course, there's Inferno, who was closest to Red. Smokescreen is Prowl's brother. Me, Hoist and Grapple, Powerglide, Cosmos, Brawn, Huffer, Gears...there's a slew of us who served together. Prowl wasn't much on the friendly side with anyone; always professional, tolerated his brothers. Ratchet and Prime — Optimus, that is — were pretty much the only ones who dealt with him on a regular basis."

"Okay, running plan: 'Cutter, you focus on Inferno. Calm him down, get him on our side. That'll take care of Red's buddies. Whoever you recognise, you talk them down. Me and Landmine'll pull muscle when needed. Oi, Slapdash, sit-rep!"

Slapdash responded by opening the comm link; someone was whipping the crowd into a fervour.

"Sounds organised," Trailcutter grumbled.

"And that's not a good thing," Artemis picked up the pace. "Organisation could mean mutiny. High-gear it, boys; it's show time."

Trailcutter, with reservation, took point, the uncertainty dissolving once entering the auditorium. Thundering through the crowd — his teammates could not decide whether it was his forcefield or the sudden spike in his electromagnetic field that caused the rabble to part — he bellowed over the din, much to the surprise of everyone inside: "Can we get everyone to settle the hell down right now?"

The noise cut in half. "Thank you. Now, is it too much to ask for everyone to go about their normal business? Sooner we get this over with, the sooner I hit the bar, because my hangover combined with this slag? It's putting me in a _really — bad — mood_!"

Now the auditorium quieted, all optics on normally soft-spoken and pleasant but now irate forcefield specialist, his hands open, fingers flexing in preparation. Slapdash, pinned behind a bleacher, took the opportunity to join the other security personnel, covering the flank behind Artemis and Landmine.

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Trailcutter lowered his voice to a growl. "I'm gonna ask nicely: disperse now, or we start dragging your afts to the brig. We got all night — your call."

"You and what army?!" someone from the back shouted; Artemis would have placed chits that it was Atomizer.

The barometric pressure in the auditorium dropped, as though someone had opened an airlock. "You've got fifteen clicks to clear out and return to your regularly scheduled duties," Trailcutter ordered, "or I drop the field to two metres off the floor and we start processing all of you, one at a time. Now, if you could kindly move to the exits in an orderly fashion — fourteen! Thirteen! Twelve!"

As he counted, three quarters of the protesters scrambled over one another to escape the auditorium, until a handful of the rougher crowd remained in challenge.

"Five! Four! Hey, Art, looks like you get bust some aft after all! Two!"

In the end, they brigged three mechs: Rollbar, Fizzle, and Pointblank. Inferno hung back until last click before ducking out.

"Okay, gotta admit: that was bad-aft," Slapdash commented once they left the brig.

Artemis rubbed shoulders with the mech of the megacycle, sporting a proud grin. "That was hot. Swear to Primus, if I weren't on duty and missing an arm, I'd be dragging you into a maintenance alcove."

"Damn, have you no shame?" Landmine guffawed.

"Hell, when did being on duty ever stop me?" she gave her remaining shoulder a shrug.

"Shouldn't we check with Waverider, Aquafend, and the Hydrobots?" Trailcutter's engine hitched, attempting a change of topic.

"Can we just say 'Waverider and the Hydrobots'?" Slapdash questioned.

"Sounds like a name of a band," Artemis chortled, opening the comm. "Oi, Waverider, give us the good news."

 _"Looks like your buddy Smokescreen got them talked down before I got there,"_ Waverider admitted. _"We're on our way with Ammo and Lancet, although to be honest, more likely they got rowdy due to the fact they're both smelling like a distillery."_

"Jealous," Artemis retorted. "Thanks for the update. Looks like a wrap, boys. Five in the brig, the rest terrified of 'Cutter. Let's meet back at the security office and debrief."

"I don't want people to be terrified of me!" Trailcutter protested. "I just wanted them to stop being idiots!"

Landmine clapped him on the back. "Hell, you even had me quaking in my servos!"

"All about the presence, love," Artemis grinned.

Trailcutter's shoulders slumped, but he said nothing more of the topic. With the others taking point, he brought up the rear.

Not in the way Artemis liked; it was one thing to watch a friend's back. It was another to keep from being noticed.

Hanging back from the others, Artemis looped her arm with his. "You okay?" she muttered. "You did good, love. Damn good. No one got hurt, crowd dispersed, and Ratchet doesn't yell at me. Well, he doesn't yell at me for sending someone else to Medibay."

"Yeah," he agreed, but it was superficial.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Use what you got. There's no shame in that. Be resourceful, and you? You're resourceful."

"I just would like...." He trailed off with a sigh, resting his left hand on her hip. "I'd just like for once to be recognised — "

She swung around and silenced him with a kiss, a simple buss, but lingering, before she about-faced, resuming her march forward.

 _Wrecker up, love,_ she willed, _because right now? I'm freaking the hell out._

 

 **NEXT CHAPTER** **:** Light Up The Night


End file.
